WASHINGTON, March 16 (KUNA) — A consortium of 11 US private banks rushed Thursday to the rescue of the beleaguered rival San Francisco lender First Republic (FRC) with USD 30 billion of uninsured deposits.
“This show of support by a group of large banks is most welcome, and demonstrates the resilience of the banking system,” US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said in a joint statement announcing the move and welcoming it.
This is an unusual joint effort from the private banks to save a rival and restore calm in the financial system following failures of three midsized lenders in the last week.
The infusion from 11 of the nation’s biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC), follows a steep drop in the shares of First Republic, which was the nation’s 14th-largest bank as of Dec. 31 with USD 212 billion in assets. (end) asj.ibi
Source: Kuwait News Agency (KUNA))